MTH098 - Quantitative Literacy 2 - Winter 2022

Course Videos

Course Video Playlist

Class recordings from early 2021

Course Description:

Students will study arithmetic and algebra in different contexts. This course provides the algebra, quantitative reasoning, and problem solving skills necessary for success in Math 105. Students will solve a variety of contextual and open-ended mathematical problems. The course is alternate pathway to Math 105 for students not intending to take calculus. Technology such as calculators and spreadsheets will be explored. (Credits: 5)

Prerequisites:

Successful completion of MTH062 or appropriate placement or equivalent as determined by the Mathematics Department.

Required Materials:

• • A computer with Regular Internet Access,
  • a notebook,
  • a calculator
  • Time, lots of time.

Method of Instruction:

While this is a “work when you want” class, it is not self-paced. You are to keep up with the schedule of due dates. Plan to do math every day, at least 12 hours each week.

You can connect to me through my online math help sessions or set appointments with me.

Zoom link for math help sessions, Monday through Friday at 10 AM, or Monday and Wednesday at 2 PM, or by appointment.

Expectations:

• • You are expected to do math daily, about 2 hours per day, on average.
  • You are expected to have a notebook for notes from the textbook, notes from class, and homework problems.
  • You are expected to communicate with your instructor regularly and your classmates online. I will get back to you within 24 hours during the week and with 48 hours over the weekend.
  • Don’t cheat or you’ll be sorry. Although the instructor assumes that no cheating will take place, any evidence of cheating will be reported to the VP of Instruction, pursued thoroughly and dealt with strictly. The negative value of the assessment, -100%, will be assigned on the first instance of cheating; An F in the course will be assigned on the second. Please refer to the college's Academic Dishonesty policy for more details.
  • You are also expected to be considerate online, upholding the utmost respect for the educational environment. If you are inconsiderate, then you will be removed from our virtual classroom.
  • You can expect me to get back to you with questions you email or post within 24 hours on week days and within 48 hours on weekends. You can expect me to work with you during class time, answering your questions to the best of my ability, and to work with you outside of class when you set an appointment with me.

Homework:

Each week you will explore 1 to 2 lessons and each lesson will have a few assignments. The assignment types are:

1. 1. A Preparation (Prep) assignment. Not every section will have a prep assignment, but many will. The "Prep" assignments are designed to review the skills you need for the lesson, so be sure to do those before starting the lesson.
   2. The actual Lesson assignment. This is where you will learn and discover new concepts and skills as you work through a set of guided problems. There are more details about the lesson format on the next page.
   3. A Homework (HW) assignment. These are questions that give you a chance to practice the concepts and apply the skills you learn in the lesson to a new set of problems.
   4. A Spreadsheet exploration.
   5. Weekly group Discussions.

You may be given other assignments throughout the quarter.

Testing Procedures:

There will be one mid-term exam, and a comprehensive final exam.
Quizzes may be distributed throughout the quarter.
No make-up exams or quizzes will be given. 
The midterm exam must be taken during the week of February 2 - 7, 2022
The final exam must be taken during finals week, March 14 - 16, 2022.

These exams will be online, on your own, but timed.

Method of Evaluation:

Your final grade will be a weighted average of all of your assignment, quiz, and exam grades.

Prep	10%		A is ≥ 90%
Lessons	20%		B is ≥ 80%
Homework	10%		C is ≥ 70%
Discussions	10%		D is ≥ 60%
Midterm Exam	25%		F is < 60%
Final Exam	25%

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Learning Experiences and Assessments

Your requirements for the course can be broken into two categories: 

• • Learning Experiences (Preparations, Lessons, Homework Assignments, Spreadsheets, and Discussions) and
  • Assessments (Quizzes & Exams). 

All Learning Activities and Assessments will take place in Canvas and can be found within the Weekly Modules.  Each assignment will have a due date during the week.  Below is a description of each:

Preparations:

Preparing to learn is one of the most valuable things you can do.  In this course, preparations ("Prep" assignments) set the stage for successful learning through a review of previously learned concepts that will provide the foundation on which new concepts can be built.  In order to prepare for each lesson you may read a short text segment and will answer several questions.  Most of the questions in the Prep assignment have multiple versions.  If you miss a problem, you should:

1. 1. Watch the video attached to the question, if available
   2. Look at the answer to see if you can figure out how the problem was supposed to be done
   3. Ask for help if you're still stuck
   4. Click the "Try a Similar Problem" link to generate a new version of the problem. You can work this new version for full credit.

Lessons:

The lessons are your primary learning experience - they are where you will learn new concepts and skills.  Think of them like a learn-by-doing interactive textbook.  For each lesson, you’ll have text to read, questions to answer, and occasional videos to watch.  These experiences will enable you to learn the concepts, skills, and applications that will help you to achieve the course outcomes. To complete a lesson, you should do the following:   

1. 1. Read the assigned lesson carefully, watch the recommended videos, attempt the questions posed throughout, and submit answers to the questions that require you to do so. Do these things with the intent of understanding the material, not just completing the lesson.
   2. The lessons are set up in a “learn-by-doing” format, in which you will be asked to solve problems without being given an example first to mimic.  The goal is for you to use your existing knowledge and reason through the problem.
   3. You are not expected to know how to do every problem in the lessons, but you are expected to try the problems first.  If you are unable to solve the problems, you will be shown the answer.  Carefully study the answer and make sure you understand it – this is how you will learn the material.  You can enter the answer for partial credit; you'll get points just for engaging with the material, even if you can't get the question right.
   4. You will probably want to keep a set of notes where you record important concepts you learn as you work through the lesson, so you can refer back to those easily later in the course.
   5. After completing the lesson, you are ready for the homework.

Homework Assignments:

You will have a homework assignment for each lesson.  It will include mathematical problems that will allow you to practice and assess your knowledge of concepts and skills covered in the lesson, and further develop your knowledge of these concepts and skills.  You will have many attempts on each question, with only a small penalty if you miss a problem.  If you miss a question, go back and review the concepts and skills learned during the lesson, and try the problem another way.  

If you are still stuck, then ask for help by posting to the weekly learning forum.  A post that just says "I don't know how to do this this" will likely get a response of "What have you already tried", so when asking about a question in the forum, be sure to describe what you've already tried or where you are stuck.  You are encouraged to help your classmates who post in the forum.  Ideally the class will operate like a study group, where you all help each other, and I can provide additional help if you're stuck.

Participation in Discussions:

There will be two required discussions per week, due at the end of the week.  Your participation in these discussions is mandatory.  Discussions are intended to enhance your understanding of concepts, and to get you to think critically about and reflect on what you are learning in this course.  The discussions forums are as follows:

Learning Forum

The Learning Forum is intended for you and your fellow classmates to share what you have learned during the week’s lessons, specific insights you have gained, and questions you still have. This forum is student led, meaning students will post original threads to which other students are free to respond. After completing all assigned lessons and homework assignments for the week, click on the Learning Forum.  Start a new thread addressing one of the following prompts:

This week,

• • I learned…
  • One thing I understand well enough to explain to someone else is…
  • I have made a link between… 
  • I am still unsure about… 
  • To fill in this gap I intend to…
  • A mistake that moved my learning forward was…
  • Something I learned about the way I learn is…
  • The specific questions I still have are…

Share Your Work

The “Share Your Work” assignment will be a mathematical problem that relates to one or more of the concepts covered during the week.  You should solve the problem alone, without any assistance from other individuals or resources, online or otherwise, and post your solution as a new thread in the forum.  The solution can be typed, or attached as a scanned document or image. 

While you are not required to reply to other threads, you are encouraged to do so, and, at the least, you should try to read all threads. 

Exams

There will be two exams – a midterm exam during week 5, and a comprehensive final exam during finals week (week 12).  The tasks and problems you will be asked to complete on exams will be cover the same concepts and skills as those you encounter during the course, but will likely be in different contexts and will require you applying those skills to new situations.  There are no make-up quizzes or exams.  Please plan accordingly.

Exams should be completed by yourself, without any assistance from other individuals or resources, online or otherwise.

There will be a 3-day window for each exam during which you will be able to take the exam; details will be posted as the dates approach.

Late Work Policy

The assignment deadlines are relatively firm. If you wait until the day an assignment is due to start it, then you are not likely to finish it successfully. You can apply a "latepass" to a Lesson, HW, or Prep assignments. If you know that you can't get a lesson or homework done before the deadline, then you have the option to redeem a latepass up to the day after the deadline. This extends the deadline by 48 hours.
For example, if the assignment was due on 4/10, then redeeming a latepass will give you until 4/12.
You can use one latepass per assignment and you have 20 latepasses to use this quarter. Use them wisely.

If something major comes up (a death in the family, hospitalization, etc.), go ahead and email me or call me to let me know, and we can work something out.

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Student Outcomes:

After completion of this course the student will demonstrate proficiency in the following areas:

• • Students will discuss and solve contextual and open-ended mathematical problems.
  • Students will apply number sense to a variety of quantitative scenarios.
  • Students will create, analyze, and discuss simple algebraic models.
  • Students will read, create, and interpret graphs.
  • Students will measure and interpret quantities.
  • Students will demonstrate basic statistical reasoning.

State Endorsed Outcomes:

As a result of taking Math in Society, a student should be able to:

• • Use appropriate mathematics to solve problems; and
  • Recognize which mathematical concepts are applicable to a scenario, apply appropriate mathematics and technology in its analysis, and then accurately interpret, validate, and communicate the results.

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How to Succeed in Your Online Class

To be successful in your online course, you must be:

Self-Motivated and Self-Disciplined

With the freedom and flexibility of the online environment comes responsibility. The online process takes a real commitment and discipline to meet course requirements and deadlines. As online courses do not take less time than an equivalent on-campus course, you can get behind and feel overwhelmed in a hurry. Developing a personal schedule for completing coursework and pacing yourself will be the key to success.

Most students will agree that online courses require more involvement time than traditional classes. You will need to dedicate 12-21 hours a week to completing the assigned lessons and other course requirements.  Remember this is a 4 credit class, so what you do online is replacing 4 hours of in-class time and 8 hours of outside of class work. Do not procrastinate. Doing 1-2 hours of work at a time will be much easier to handle than trying to complete ten hours at the end of the week.  It is recommended that you set aside regular times (similar to the blocks of time that you would attend class) during which you'll do your work. 

An Independent Learner

While learning online can offer you freedom and flexibility, there are times when it can seem lonely. You won't have a teacher there to guide you through every step of the lesson.  To be successful, you'll need to be willing and able to grapple with the course material on your own.  With that said, however, you must also be willing to speak up if problems arise or if you have questions. Many of the nonverbal communication methods that instructors use in determining when students are having problems (confusion, frustration, boredom, absence, etc.) are not possible in the online class. If you are experiencing difficulty at any level (either with technology or with the course content), you must communicate this immediately. Otherwise the instructor will never know what is wrong.

A Good Communicator

Nearly all communication in an online course is written, so it is critical that you feel comfortable in expressing yourself in writing. You'll also want to abide by rules of good online etiquette, also known as netiquette.  Here are some tips: 

• • Show professionalism and courtesy.
  • Respond to communication promptly.
  • Use descriptive subject lines for email messages and discussion board postings.
  • Be considerate of others' feelings and use language carefully.
  • Use humor carefully. It is hard to "read" tone; sometimes humor can be misread as criticism or personal attack. Feel free to use emoticons like :) for a smiley face to let others know you are being humorous.
  • Use a Positive Tone
  • Use correct spelling and grammar. 
  • Do not use text speak, such as "ur" for "your" or "ru" for "are you" etc.
  • Use capital letters sparingly. THEY LOOK LIKE SHOUTING.
  • Before hitting the Send or Submit button, review your message.
  • Forward emails only with a writer's permission.
  • Cite all quotations, references, and sources (otherwise, it is Plagiarism).

Flexible

Learning online is an adventure that will expose you to many new experiences. The ability to be flexible and remain open-minded is crucial to having a positive experience.

Moderately Experienced with Using the Computer

You will need to know how to enter and retrieve course information on the computer and be able to receive and submit assignments and other materials. Other useful skills include being familiar with a word processing program and the ability to send and receive email including the use of attachments, a good understanding of the web and its use, enough so that you are able to navigate from one site to another; to find things on the web, and to do searches if it is part of an assignment.

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Special Services and Student Accommodations:

Students requiring assistance beyond the services provided in the regular classroom activities must seek out the instructor after class.
Additional assistance is available at the Special Programs Tutoring Center.
Persons having questions about or requests for special needs and accommodation should contact the Assistant Director, Admissions and Advising at Blue Mountain Community College, 2411 N.W. Carden, Pendleton OR 97801, Phone 541-278-5931 or TDD 541-278-2174. Contact should be made 72 hours in advance of the event.

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Disclaimer:

The syllabus may change depending upon the needs of a particular class. Please verify topics, tests and other due dates with your instructor.

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